1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is an article which is a plated meth(acrylate)/styrene/acrylonitrile interpolymer. It is useful as a plated component in motor vehicles, appliances and plumbing systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The interpolymer which forms the substrate for the article of the present invention is known and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,631 to A. J. Yu et al. as an impact resistant and weatherable thermoplastic composition. This prior art patent describes its use per se as a substitute for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resins but does not show or suggest that such an interpolymer can be plated.
The prior art teaches that ABS resins are platable because of the presence of the oxidizable butadiene component contained therein (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,487 to H. Yamamoto et al., Col. 1, line 61 to Col. 2, line 20; Modern Electroplating, F. A. Lowenheim, ed., Third Edition, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y., p. 640; "The ABC's of Electroplating ABS" by N. Anis, Plastics Engineering, pp. 14-17, January 1977; and "Electroless Plating of Plastics", by G. A. Krulik, J. of Chem. Educ., Vol. 55, No. 6, pp. 361-365, June, 1978).